You Are Not Alone
by Kate-Emma
Summary: Complete - "She, literally, saved my life." - Invasion day, the abduction of Ben, and the story of how Hal and Karen met. 3-Parter. Hal/Karen
1. Chapter 1

**27/5: **Before you start, this story was written about a month ago and originally posted in 'Misc TV Shows'. Back then I was one episode into the show and knew nothing about the characters. So please remember this was long before Falling Skies had a fan fiction archive, had revealed a lot of details and was only just starting. Despite its many inaccuracies, I hope you like it. It was the first Falling Skies ff on ff dot net and I'm very proud of that fact. Enjoy!

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**Disclaimer: **I don't own Falling Skies but if Spielberg's selling and Drew Roy is going for a good price, I'll buy!

**YOU ARE NOT ALONE  
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"… _after the break: friend or foe? Lacey Simmons talks to a woman who is convinced our visitors are only after our souls. You're watching Good Morning Bo…"_

Rebecca Mason switched off the television as she heard the familiar squeak of the stairs. "Hal, breakfast." Taking three steps sideways, away from the kitchen table, she spotted the back of her eldest son as he reached for the front door. "I can see you."

Hal turned with that trademark charming smile stuck on his face. "Oh, hey mom, didn't notice you there."

"Breakfast." Hal opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off. "Don't give me a story about going in early to study, remember, I sign your report cards." Hal trudged towards her like he was headed for the gallows rather than cereal. "You know I don't like you ducking out to see that Sarah Cunningham – she's not a nice girl."

"I know." Hal shook some cereal into a bowl, ignored the milk, and started to eat it dry.

Rebecca sighed. "Please don't tell me you broke that girl's heart."

He shook his head. "Mutual agreement." Though, through the cereal still in his mouth, it sounded more like 'muchul ageemen'.

"He's going out with Gemma Watkins now, according to the rumors." Ben, the middle child of the Mason family, spoke up. At fifteen and a nerd at the high school the two eldest Mason sons shared, he was the bane of his older brother's existence, and he knew it.

"Gemma Watkins?" Rebecca frowned softly, not noticing the death glare Hal was shooting at Ben.

Ben just smiled at his brother slyly. "She's seventeen."

"Hal," Rebecca warned softly.

"What? I'll be seventeen in three months!" Hal's protest died though as Ben continued.

"Seventeen, as in, a senior." He looked up at his mother, his sandy hair messed up and his blue eyes shining. Both were looks he'd inherited from her. On the other hand Hal was dark-haired and had hazel-colored eyes, like his father, and these eyes were now shooting death wishes at his younger brother. "She's off to college next year!"

"Hal Thomas Mason!" Rebecca wheeled, turning on Hal, and the sixteen-year-old leaned back in his chair to move away from her. "Older girls? What have you done? Alienated all the others?"

He shrugged. "It's no big deal, her brother's on my lacrosse team, she's cool and…"

But Rebecca wasn't done and she was looking for an ally. Tom Mason had the misfortune of walking in just at this moment. "Okay boys, don't torment your mother, an…"

"Tom, did you hear all that?"

Tom looked up from his bag slowly. "Sorry Rebecca, I have a lecture in an hour, I've got to get to the college."

"You have a lecture now darling. Your oldest son is going off the rails!" Rebecca's voice went a little higher and she pointed a finger at Hal, in case Tom wasn't sure which son she meant. Impossible since their middle son Ben was a good boy and their youngest, Matt, was just a kid.

"Mom, I'm not going off the rails!"

"He's right mom," Ben added. "Technically he's been off the rails for a while now."

Hal leaned forward, hitting the table between them, and growled at his brother. "I'm gonna kill you." Ben barely batted an eyelid.

Tom just shook his head. "Hal, don't kill your brother." He looked at Ben. "Stop tormenting yours." He finally turned his gaze on Rebecca. "Don't stress them, they're just being boys." He glanced upstairs. "Where's Matt?"

"Still in bed. He's probably faking some rare African disease." Rebecca smiled. "You know how much he loves school."

Tom chuckled. "I'll go wake him up before I go," he kissed his wife on the cheek and gave his eldest son a light shove as he passed them. "Stay out of trouble."

…

"What do you think he dreams about?" Hal asked, glancing down at his youngest brother as Matt slept peacefully. He seemed to be the only one able to.

"I don't know." Tom looked up from the map he'd been studying. "But he seems happy doesn't he?" Hal shrugged a response. "In the current climate it's the least we're going to get. Ancient Romans us…"

Hal cut him off. "Dad, please, what did we say about the history lessons?" But he grinned as he spoke and Tom laughed softly.

"Sorry, I'll rein it in shall I?" Hal smiled and stood, making for his dirt bike, some minor repairs required before they set off again for the day. He could see the central tower standing over Boston from here. Somewhere, beyond the city and to the west, was the suburb of Bastion Hill. His old home. He turned his eyes away from it. Tom seemed to sense where Hal was looking. "Seems like a million years ago doesn't it?"

"Six months." Hal sighed and looked back at Matt. "We gonna wake him up yet?"

"Not yet." Tom smiled down at his son then glanced up at Hal. "So, what do you dream about?" He said cheekily.

Hal raised an eyebrow. "I think that's kinda personal dad." Tom grinned as his son walked away.

...

"Hey!" Karen closed her locker door and jumped a little as her best friend Amie appeared from around the corner. "You going tomorrow?"

Karen played dumb. "To what?"

"'To what?'" Amie mocked. "The lacrosse game against Bastion Hill High. Craig's playing."

She shrugged. "I don't know, maybe." Picking up her backpack, now full with textbooks, she flung it onto her shoulder. "I should be studying. I have that Advanced Cal exam Friday." Amie cast her eyes skywards and Karen read it. "First: Craig hasn't exactly asked me to be there so," she shrugged. "And second: Boston West haven't won a game against Bastion for five seasons."

"Karen Nadler: the very image of school pride." Karen laughed at Amie's face as she put her hands up like claws and tried to look ditzy, impersonating Boston West High's cheerleader army. "Go Cheetahs."

"I have school pride." Karen pulled open her locked again. "See!" She motioned to a blue and yellow (the school's colors) banner pinned inside the door. It read 'Academic Decathalon: 1st Place – Boston West High. Karen Nadler'. "And sporty too!"

Amie grinned. "You're lucky we've been best friends since we were seven super-geek otherwise I'd cut you loose." She shut the locker. "And as your best friend it's my duty to ensure you get to that game, win over Craig with your geeky charm, and then make me maid of honor at your wedding." Karen laughed. "Come on girl, let's go get you something awesome to wear for the game. Something loud, bright, just generally great – like me!" She looped her arm around Karen's and, before the blonde could protest, she'd dragged her away.

…

"Mom, can't I go?" Matt looked up at his mother, eyes wide, as she finished packing his lunch. "It's a big game, isn't it?"

He looked to his eldest brother for support but found none when Hal just glanced up at his mother. "I don't want him there."

Rebecca frowned. "Be nice." But she still shook her head at her son. "No, I'm not driving you over to West, so stop trying to get out of school." Matt stuck out his bottom lip but it didn't work and Rebecca pretended she couldn't see it, turning her attention to the news as another news anchor questioned the lack of alien contact. She glanced towards the window where the massive ship, larger than the city of Boston itself, hung on the horizon. It had been two weeks since they had come. Two weeks with no contact, no movement, just quiet lingering. It scared her a little and she looked away just as Ben walked into the kitchen. "Ben, are you going to West with Hal and the team?"

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Why would I do that? I hope the Knights lose."

Hal just cast his eyes skyward and shook his head. "Like I'd want you there Geekazoid, embarrassment to the Mason family name."

"No, that would be you." Ben shot back, crossing his arms. He turned to his mother. "Can I go over to Nick's this afternoon? I have a free period after lunch and we wanna work on the science project due next week."

Rebecca nodded. "Since you absolutely refuse to go support your brother, at least you'll be doing something. Give me a call when you're done and I'll come pick you up, okay?" Ben smiled and nodded, grabbing some toast and his backpack, kissing his mother as he left.

"Suck up." Hal muttered under his breath. Rebecca didn't even bother to silence him.

"Matt, go get your stuff, I'll drive you to school." Matt slouched off as Rebecca looked at her eldest. "The game is at 2, right?" Hal nodded silently. "Okay. Straight after the game your dad will pick you up."

Hal grumbled. "Mom, what if I wanna hang out with the team afterwards?"

Rebecca shook her head. "No, don't think I don't know about that English exam tomorrow morning. I want you home and studying by four." Hal just stood and slouched off as well. "You'll thank me for this one day!" As he left her sight Rebecca rubbed one hand over her face then went back to packing Matt's lunch.

…

"Your dad's looking at you." Lourdes smiled at Hal as she came up beside him, cupping a mug of hot drink to her like a lifeline. Hal just glanced back at his father. "I think he's worried about you. You know, since…" she didn't finish the sentence and they both knew why. It had been three weeks since Karen had been taken.

Hal shrugged. "Well, I'm fine, no need to worry about me." He put on a brave smile.

"Good." Lourdes' tone suggested she didn't quite believe him but he didn't call her up on it. "But if you wanna talk about it there's me, or Dr. Glass or I can help you talk to Him."

Hal nodded upwards. "The big guy in the sky?"

Lourdes smiled. "He's a very good listener."

"I'm fine, really." He glanced at the drink. "Though I wouldn't knock back one of those."

Lourdes held it out to him without hesitation. "Here, take mine." She smiled brilliantly as she pushed it towards him and Hal took it slowly.

"Thanks."

Just giving a small nod the mousy brunette turned away, stopped, then glanced back. "I, uh, hope you don't think I'm prying but you and Karen were friends when I got here. I was wondering, I've been wondering for a few months now, how you met?"

Hal sipped his drink. "A few months?"

She shrugged with another smile. "I'm nosey."

"We met at a lacrosse match, the day of the invasion." He gave a small smile. "She, literally, saved my life."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Those damn Skitters stole my disclaimer!

…

"Hal!" A fresh-faced blonde kid called out Hal's name and the oldest Mason looked up. "Don't mess it up!"

Hal shot his friend Julian the finger then turned back to the rest of the team as they gathered at the edge of the field. Boston West's lacrosse team stood at the other end, talking animatedly, every so often glancing up at the Bastion Hill team, but Bastion's captain Greg didn't bother with a pep talk, merely slapping the boys on the back as they ran onto the field past him. Hal took his position and glanced around. The stands beyond were filled with mostly Boston High supporters, the Cheetahs dressed head-to-toe in blue and gold, while a small contingent of Knights fans gathered in their black and red. Greg was playing up to them and they cheered but Hal turned his attention as a competitor jogged away from the Boston West team and towards two girls standing on the sidelines. Hal followed his eyes towards them and noticed an excitable brunette and quieter blonde talking to the player.

"Hey, Archer's got himself a hot one!" Hal glanced up at his teammate Eric as he motioned to the girls. "Not bad for a loser."

Hal chuckled. "Boston West girls? Getting desperate man."

"What? Those damn footballers steal all the good Bastion Hill girls." He grinned and jogged away from Hal, back to position.

"Alright Knights. Lets do this!" Greg called out to the team as he moved to the middle of the field. "Let's kick some Cheetah ass!"

…

"I look like Neapolitan ice-cream." Karen muttered, motioning to the white pants and chocolate-brown top she was sporting for the game. "These aren't even school colors."

Amie nodded, dragging her friend towards the field. "Exactly why you'll stand out. Plus, you have me, I'll help Craig notice you."

"If you yell at him during the game and make Boston West lose, you are aware you will be lynch-mobbed by the blue and gold army, right?" Karen smiled at her friend as she said it though.

"Worth it." Then, with a grin, she raised an arm and yelled out. "Hey, Craig!" The brunette boy turned as Amie waved and Karen pretended to be preoccupied by her sneakers. "Good luck!"

Stepping away from his teammates, Craig came to the side of the field, smiling. "Thanks Harper." He looked across at Karen. "Okay Nadler?"

Karen looked up with a smile. "Great." She motioned towards Bastion Hill's team. "Gonna put them in their place today?"

Craig laughed softly. "Hopefully." He looked back at his team as they called out to him. "I better go but thanks for coming. I was gonna ask you to come but I didn't get the chance so…"

Karen felt herself blush a little and just shrugged. "It's okay, a good thing I'm psychic!" Craig laughed as he jogged away from them. Karen glanced across at Amie. "Good thing I'm psychic?" She buried her face in her hands.

Amie just shook her head. "No, it's a good thing you're adorable." Then, throwing her arm around her friend's shoulder, Amie led her back to the seats. "Let's go Cheetahs!"

…

"And at the half-time mark it's Boston High 4…" the commentator stopped as something caught his eye. "What the hell is that?"

From the alien ship in the distance came a bright white light. It shot towards Boston like a comet falling from the sky and then, with an explosion of white, the afternoon sky was lit up brilliantly. Some students screamed, most shielded their eyes, and the commentator swore softly. Only half the word came through however as the audio system, as well as the scoreboard, flickered and died. As the light faded away the voices started up. The main one being 'what the hell was that?'. A few students got up to go, some laughed it off bravely (or foolishly as the case may be), but Karen just stood, looking towards Boston, worried for her aunt and uncle in the city center. Were they okay? Was Boston still safe? A million questions raged until her thoughts were cut off by a yell.

"What the hell is that?"

Coming from the alien ship, just like the white ball of light, was a series of smaller blue ones, shooting out from the base. At first they looked like more lights, then they changed direction, and reality struck. "They're ships!" A junior yelled out. A few students screamed, scattered, the ships causing primal responses. Amie ran with them but Karen stood stock-still, staring up at the ships as they came closer, unable to move. Then someone jolted her, almost pushed her over the line of seats in front, and she awoke from her reverie. And, glancing around her, Karen ran too.

…

"In 49AD the remains of Mac…" Tom Mason's speech slowed to a halt as his computer screen, microphone and projector flickered and turned black. He stepped out from behind his podium and walked towards his students. "Another thing the Macedons didn't have – electricity." His students chuckled. "So, a vote: we brave what knowledge I have stored my head, raise your right hand. We break early and pick up with BU pays its electricity bill, left hand." The students laughed again as they each raised their hands. "Oh, I think the Rights have it. Okay, as I was saying… in 49AD the remains of Macedon was s…" he was cut off again but this time by a booming explosion in the distance. Students at the back of the class reacted immediately, intrigue getting the better of them, and they threw open the doors of the lecture theatre. One girl screamed and instantly Tom jumped into action, moving up the stairs as one of the guys spoke up.

"They're attacking!"

That was enough to set pandemonium loose on the history class. Tom pushed through his students and looked towards the east. Beyond, in the air above Boston and the surrounding suburbs, ships flew low dropping blow balls of what seemed to be electricity onto the town. They also dropped large silver creatures, like an Orson Welles killing machine, to the ground. It was massive, almost 8 foot tall, but landed with agility. One dropped on the outskirts of the campus and strode in towards the students who were now running from the balls of lightning and the silver biped figure striding towards them. Tom pushed his students back and shut the door. He'd just seen a ship drop one of the silver robots in the vicinity of Boston West High. He needed to get there… now!

"Back door." He pointed down at the emergency exit behind the projector screen. "Don't scream, don't yell, just run." He cast another look towards the main door as his students followed his orders and moved silently out of the class and away from Tom's sight. At the sound of a girl's scream outside his door, Tom pulled it open a little, just in time to watch the biped raise his right arm and fire at one of the professors. The man fell dead and the young student he was protecting, a first year by the look of her, was left face-to-face with the monster. Three lights, two blue and one orange, shone out of the top of the robot's head, seemingly scanning her. Too shocked to move she just accepted it. Then, raising it's left arm this time, the robot fired again. The fire fainted but her breathing continued. She wasn't dead.

"What the hell?" Tom muttered softly, watching the monster step over the girl. The whole business, from murder to scanning and then to knocking the girl unconscious, was all over in less than five seconds. Now the thing was moving again and Tom pushed the classroom door shut again. He had to get to the school. He had to get to the school now.

…

"What is that?" Hal skidded to a stop as Julian spoke. They'd run from the lacrosse field at the sign of the ships, still a little bedazzled by the flash of white light, their sense of direction impaired. The fact they'd found each other was mere luck and, Hal noted as he stopped, he was still holding his lacrosse stick. He threw it away as his eyes followed where Julian was pointing. One of the ships, that had previously been blowing Boston West's school buildings to smithereens, had dropped low and a massive silver creature fell out, landing with the kind of agility unexpected for its size.

"I don't know." Despite his fear Hal watched it, safe in his assumption he was far enough away from it, as it strode across the school grounds, smashing through the football posts in its way like a human stepping on matchsticks. He noticed the blue lights emerge from a point just above its head, turning orange as it stopped on one of Boston West's teachers who was helping a student who'd fallen over. The man didn't even see it coming and, with a quick raise of its arm, he was zapped by the monster's own brand of lightening ball. The student, scanned too, didn't receive the same treatment. Hal frowned. "Why didn't it kill the kid?" He looked at Julian. "That doesn't make sense."

Julian shook his head. "None of this makes sense mate. They've been up there for two weeks." He looked around him. "We have to keep moving."

"Where?" Hal asked. He motioned towards the school. "They're bombing that way, scanner thing that isn't killing kids the other way, we're kinda between a rock and a hard place here." But there was no panic to Hal's voice. More than anything he was confused. Confused but relatively calm. "I wanna face the thing."

"You're a nutcase, its gonna kill you." Julian said, looking back towards the school. "If you wanna face it, good luck, but you're on your own." Then, with a shrug, Julian rushed back towards the school.

Hal watched him go for a moment then started towards the monster. He was almost within its sights when something grabbed the back of his jersey and pulled him behind a small clump of bushes. As he fell, ungracefully, to the ground, he looked up at the blond girl Eric had been checking it out. "What the hell?"

"Are you arrogant or stupid?" She muttered, pushing her fringe back off her face, glancing towards the field where the creature stood. He started to walk slowly towards the school, away from them, and the girl breathed out slowly. "I think it's leaving."

Hal sat up and peered over the top of the bush. "Thanks, now I missed my chance at it."

She glanced across at him. "Yeah, you're stupid." Hal shot her a small glare. "You haven't noticed have you? It's scanning people, shooting the adults, stunning the kids. You really think it's doing that out of the kindness of its heart? It doesn't like killing kids?" Hal shrugged. The blond shook her head. "It wants us. It wants kids."

"Why the hell would it want kids?"

"Well you're welcome to stick around and find out but I'm out of here. I need to find my parents, my aunt and uncle, make sure they're not…" she trailed off. "Well."

"Dead?"

"Yeah." She sank down a little lower behind the bush and pulled her phone from her pocket. It was dead. "That white light then the scoreboard died. Must've fried the power grids." She tossed the phone away like the piece of junk it now was. "No chance of calling mom and making sure she's alive."

Hal frowned. "Where do you live?"

The blonde pointed east. "Three blocks."

Hal glanced around. "I might have a way out." He looked over at her. "The fastest way to the Beech Rd car park?"

She gave a small smile. "Follow me."

…

The blue station wagon pulled into the car park and the driver's side door flung open. Tom stepped out into the car park, looking up at the school. It was destroyed and around him students ran from something he couldn't see. But he could guess what it was. Another mechanical alien was here somewhere. But Hal wasn't.

"Come on." Tom said to himself softly as he scanned the mass of moving students. He couldn't see Julian or Eric or any of Hal's friends among them. "Co…"

"Dad!"

Tom turned and spotted his son running alongside a blond girl. He pulled open the back door and she jumped in as Hal went to the passenger side. "Thank god." Getting behind the wheel he barely got a chance to shut his door when the mechanical monster appeared in his rear vision mirror. "Get down, don't let it scan you."

They all lowered their heads as Tom punched the gas pedal, the car tearing out of the car park, leaving the robot in its wake. "Good timing as ever dad." Hal yelled above an explosion as a ship flew over, dropping a ball of lightening where the car had been a second earlier.

"You know me son," Tom returned, yanking the steering wheel hard so the car peeled into a side street, just missing a large silver monster walking down the road towards them. "Always." He glanced across at Hal. "Who's your friend though?"

"Good question." Turning in his seat Hal gave the blond a look then held out a hand. "Hal Mason." She smiled and shook it. "Nice to meet you."

"Karen Nadler." She let go of his hand as a car not far behind them exploded into a ball of flames. "Pleasure's all mine; trust me."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **The harness made me write this… I don't own Falling Skies! Save me from this thing Dr. Harri… oh wait, damn!

…

"Progress Ave, third on the left." Karen leaned across the front seat, indicating her street. This part of town was quiet for the moment but it was obvious the aliens had been through. Two bodies lay on the sidewalk as they entered Kingston Rd, the street leading to Karen's street. Two women in jogging gear. They all looked away as soon as they registered what they were looking at. Karen didn't want to find out if she knew them.

"This one?" Tom motioned to a leafy cul-de-sac and Karen nodded silently, her eyes trained on the house on the corner. "Is that…?" Tom started.

"Mrs. Braun's place. That massive tree, she used to let the kids of Progress hang out up there, let us build a fort." The tree was the main feature of the yard now the house had been partially-destroyed. "You think she's dead?" Neither of the Masons answered her question. "Right at the end, just around the corner." They drove down the street silently, taking in what was left. Most of the street had fared the same way as Mrs. Braun. Karen sniffed and Hal turned to glance at her, frowning as he saw the tears brimming in her eyes. He understood. Tom and Hal still had yet to return home. Would they find Rebecca, Ben and Matt alive? "Just up h…" Karen paused as she saw it. The mess of yellow cladding and wood that had been her home.

Without even letting Tom stop the car she pushed open the car door and jumped out, landing on her feet and running towards the house, calling for her mother. Tom pulled the car to a stop and Hal got out behind her, jogging after her as she paused on the edge of her property, looking up at the little that remained still-standing of her family home. As Hal's eyes scanned the rubble he saw what had caught Karen's attention. Near the back of the rubble, only partially visible between what seemed to be walls, was a human arm. It wasn't moving. "Karen, I…" But Hal didn't know what to say.

"She can't be…" The words came out a whisper as Karen choked back emotion. "She can't be dead." Hal touched her arm but instead of comfort it seemed to trigger the tears and she coughed softly. Hal watched her for a minute before a noise other than her cries caught his ears. It was that soft hiss of metal, like hydraulic brakes, and it was coming closer. The mechanical monster.

Hal grabbed Karen's arm. "We have to go."

Karen just shook him off. "Let them come, let them take me, I don't care anymore." She crouched down, tears overwhelming her, but Hal paid her no heed and just leant down and pulled her to her feet.

"You saved me and now it's my turn to repay the favour." Then, grabbing her around the middle, he pulled her along with him back to the car. Pushing her into the backseat he followed her in. "They're coming." Tom understood and hit the gas just as an alien appeared in the side yard of the house next to Karen's. Tom managed to turn the car and get halfway up the street before it saw them and started to give chase. Hal, meanwhile, was dealing with Karen who was sobbing uncontrollably and trying to get out of the car. He grabbed her arms and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. "I know, I know, I'm sorry." She pushed at him a few times, trying to get free, but soon she relented and just buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing openly. Hal pushed her hair off her forehead and looked up at his dad, catching his eye in the mirror, and a look of recognition passed between father and son. They were next.

…

Lourdes sighed. "I never knew." She'd taken a seat as she listened to Hal's story and she now put her chin in her palm, pressing an elbow into her knee. She looked so forlorn, a strange look considering out of everyone, maybe even more than Matty, she was the positive one. "She doesn't talk about herself."

"Her father, aunt and uncle were never found. She liked to say they were alive, had got out of Boston, but during all those months in the city she kept waiting to see if they'd walk in and join us. They didn't so…" Hal finished his drink and put the cup down. "After the city defence fell and we split up she officially decided they were dead and gave up hope."

Her brown eyes rising quickly, Lourdes shook her head. "Oh no, we can't give up hope. I know I'm going to see my parents again soon." She gave a smile but it was sad. "One day."

"What happened to them?"

But Lourdes shook her head. "No, my story can wait for another day. You haven't finished yours."

"About how I met Karen? That's all there is to it."

Lourdes smiled. "No, about going home and finding out your mom was okay."

Hal sighed. "But she wasn't okay – she was frantic because we didn't have Ben."

…

182 Tanner Road was destroyed. Rebecca put her arms around Matt as he stared up at his home with tears in his eyes. Rebecca had been lucky. She'd been home when the attack had started but maternal instinct may well have saved her life. At the first sight of the ships she'd jumped in the car and headed the two blocks to Bastion Hill Elementary where she found the students had all gathered together in the main hall. She'd seen one of the metal monsters on the outskirts of the school but no metal monster was getting between Rebecca and her son so she got past it, made it inside, and found Matt. Like all the Mason boys he was strong on the outside but as he saw her Rebecca could see her youngest son's bottom lip quiver and he wrapped his arms around her like he was determined not to let go.

She'd immediately got him away from the school and headed for home, keeping to the well-covered streets, silently listening for any of the ships flying overhead. They made it home without resistance but were dismayed by what they saw. The house was ruined.

After a few minutes of pushing through the rubble Rebecca realised her family weren't inside however and had returned to Matt's side as he sat with his back to the big tree in the front yard and just sniffled. "Hey, dad will be home soon, and he'll have Hal and Ben, and then we can go."

"Where?" Matt asked with wide eyes. "Where is safe?"

Rebecca didn't have an answer for that so she just pulled Matt into her arms and waited for Tom to come home. It felt like forever, and she could have sworn she heard more robots moving around nearby, but then she saw the dark blue station wagon at the end of the street and she stood with a smile. Tom pulled up in front of the house and waved them towards the car. As Rebecca reached the car her smile wavered. She saw Hal and a blonde girl in the back, but there was no sign of Ben, and she looked to her husband for answers. "Where is he?"

Matt jumped into the backseat beside his brother as Tom just motioned Rebecca forward. "We have to go get him. Get in."

Rebecca shook her head slowly. "Why didn't you get him first? What is happening? What are they doing?" The questions all rolled out in a jumble of words as emotion got the better of Rebecca and she coughed back a sob. Tom got out of the car, grabbing her around the shoulders, leading her to the passenger side.

"Get in the car Rebecca. We'll find him, I pro…"

Tom was cut off as a car turned into Tanner Road from a side lane. A man Tom knew leaned out the window. "Waters Street ex-Serviceman's Club. I've heard we should head there."

Tom shook his head at the man he knew only of Geoff. "We need to head towards the army base up north. It's the only safe place."

Geoff shook his head back. "Haven't you heard? They blew up the army base first. There's no defence force left. Waters Street. Get your kids and go." Geoff and the three other passengers in his car drove off quickly.

As Tom got back in the passenger seat Hal leaned over between the front seats. "Do you think that's right?"

"It makes sense to disable a country's defence system when you're invading."

"You think they've destroyed our nuclear weapons too?" Hal continued. "Or seized them?" He glanced sideways at his father as Tom started the car up again. "Do you think they'll use them against us."

"From what I've seen I don't think they're here just to kill us." Tom said softly. Rebecca and Hal gave matching frowns. "There's something else going on. I don't know what it is yet, but there's something." He pulled the car away from the curb quickly. "Come on, let's go get Ben."

…

16 Birchgrove Lane was silent. The house hadn't been destroyed but it was dark, there was no movement inside, and in the darkening afternoon sky it looked eerie. Most of Birchgrove did. Nothing moved. Not even a mechanical monster. It was just… dead. Silent, desolate, deserted.

"Is everyone dead?" Hal asked softly, still leaning over the front seat, staring out the windshield.

Tom didn't answer his question, just stopping the car. "Hal, get in the front," he passed his son the car keys. "If the aliens come get Matt and Karen out of here. Go to Waters Street."

Hal watched his parents get out of the car with a frown then climbed over into the front seat. "Okay."

Closing the driver's side door with a soft slam (it seemed to echo in the empty street and Tom cringed a little, paused and waited for the sound of a mechanical monster or ship flying over. There was nothing. The aliens had, dared he say lest he were wrong, gone…) he walked around to the front of the house with Rebecca. She looked over at him and took his hand. "Do you think he's in there?"

Tom frowned. "Part of me hopes so." He looked across at her. "Part of me doesn't." Rebecca seemed to understand though and gripped his hand softly, leading him towards the front gate. The front door of Nick's house was open, not pushed open, simply left ajar as if Nick and his family had rushed out. Tom walked into the house first, pausing as his eyes started to focus with the darkness, the dying light. Nothing moved and his ears strained for sounds from upstairs. Nothing. Nothing at all. He took a deep breath and called out his son's name, bracing himself in the doorframe for an enemy attack, picking up an umbrella from just inside the doorway. He counted to ten and nothing came so he called again. No response. He went for a third and when nothing happened he looked over at Rebecca. "Search upstairs." She nodded and started for the stairs when Tom spoke again. "Be careful." Giving him a sad smile Rebecca started upstairs quickly as Tom moved into the front living room. He'd been to Nick's place only once before, when Ben was late from walking home from his best friend's place and Rebecca had panicked a little bit, but he hadn't ventured any further than the living room at that time. He remembered it now. The photos on the mantelpiece, the china cabinet in the corner, everything so clean and in place. It was the same. Nothing had been knocked over in a rush, pushed aside by large mechanical feet, knocked over as people ran for their lives.

Ben wasn't here.

Tom's heart sank. He knew that meant only two things. One was that Ben, Nick and his mother had made it to somewhere safe, hopefully Waters Street. The other was…

Rebecca came back downstairs, tears streaming down her face, and she looked across at him holding something. It was Ben's backpack. "He's not here."

Tom nodded. "I know." He walked back to her and hugged her as she sobbed softly. He looked back out the still open front door. The massive alien ship hung low to the east. Silent. No lights coming from it now, no movement, just quiet. The first wave had ended. Would there be another soon? "We have to get the boys to Waters Street." Rebecca looked like she was about to protest but Tom spoke over her. "He might be there, he might…" He stopped. "And we have to think of Hal and Matt now."

Rebecca nodded slowly. "You're right." She dropped Ben's backpack in the hall. "You're right." Then, turning away from Ben's bag, she walked out the front door.

…

"How is he?" Hal glanced up. "How's Ben?"

Hal smiled softly at the mention of his brother. The surgery had been a success as far as he could tell and, though tired, Ben was now free of the harness and sleeping in the school's makeshift hospital room. "Better." He frowned a little. "We haven't told him about mom yet though."

Lourdes nodded. "Want to wait until he gets stronger?"

Hal shrugged. "It's just hard to talk about, that's all." He glanced up as he heard his name and saw Tom walking towards him. "I think that's my cue to go." He handed back the empty cup. "Thanks for the drink."

Lourdes beamed. "Thank you for telling me your story."

Hal chuckled. "I wish that was all there was to it, that I could stick a nice 'happily ever after' on the end for you."

"One day you will get to, I'm sure." Then, with a smile, Lourdes took the cup and walked away. Hal shook his head after her with a smile and glanced back at his father.

"Where we going?"

"Maggie went out before dawn this morning with a team of foragers and they came across a group of Mechs guarding Tennyson High, not far to the south-west of us." Hal frowned. "She saw some harnessed kids in there."

Hal nodded slowly. "Great, let's go get them then."

Tom touched his arm. "Karen was with them." Hal looked at the ground. "If you want to leave this one we can go get her."

Hal shook his head. "No, I want to come." He shifted the gun in his arms, ready for business. "I have to get her back."

…

The gates to the back parking lot of the ex-Servicemen's Club on Waters Street were shut and locked. Tom pulled up outside and got out of the car, motioning for the others to wait, and he walked up to the gate. He was about to reach out and shake it when a voice sounded from inside. "Identify yourself."

Tom frowned. "Tom Mason."

There was a pause. "Friend or foe?"

"Do I look like an alien to you?" He looked around for the voice then spotted a young man in a watchtower just above the gate. The watchtower looked like nothing more than the small standing area atop a fireman's ladder and Tom stepped sideways to see if he could spot a fire truck.

The man spoke again. "We don't mean aliens mister Mason." Tom looked up and noticed the man had a shotgun pointed down at the car. "So answer: do you come to us for help, to join us, or to work against us?"

Tom looked up at him. "I have a wife and two sons in my car right now. What do you think?"

The younger man paused then looked down at someone Tom couldn't see with a nod. A man appeared from the side of the gate and unlocked it, pushing it open slowly. "Come in mister Mason, make it quick, and join the line."

Tom returned to the car, glancing at Rebecca as she watched the whole thing with a confused look on her face. "You really think other people have tried to, I don't know… rob these people of what little they have? They clearly just want to help."

Tom nodded. "Humanity – no matter what else attacks, we are still our number one enemy." He started the car and drove through slowly, watching the two men manning the gate close it behind him. "They told me to join the line."

"What does that mean?" Tom pointed wordlessly to the cue stretching from the back entrance of the ex-Serviceman's Club. The hall was big, massive by the city's standards, but there were so many people lining up it seemed the place wouldn't be able to hold them all. Rebecca gasped. "Who are they all?"

"They're what's left of the western suburbs of Boston." Karen spoke up from the backseat quietly. "No word from our politicians, our defence force, the people that are supposed to protect us. They're leaderless and scared, have watched the people they love die, killed by the monsters in the sky we've just come to accept." There was sadness in her voice but the intelligent girl spoke eloquently and never paused to regather her words. The Masons listened carefully to her, their attention wrapt by this young lady they barely knew. "They just want to know they're not alone."

Tom pulled the car into a free space in the car park as Karen stopped talking and just looked at her feet, blonde hair dropping over her face. Rebecca turned in her seat and touched Karen's knee but the girl didn't move. "Come on, let's go in."

…

"Ladies and gentlemen – your attention please." It had been an hour since the Masons had arrived at the ex-Serviceman's Club and though they still stood in line, they were nearing the front, little Matt half-asleep against his father's shoulder. He woke and lifted his head as the woman came past them. "Thank you all for waiting and you won't have much longer." She came to a stop with a smile. "For the purposes of finding lost loved ones, and registering the deceased or taken," Rebecca gave a small sob and Tom looked over at her. She'd been holding back the tears for Ben quite well until now but suddenly they threatened to escape. "We need you to register your identity, the names of anyone you have lost, and any still being searched for. Names and addresses will suffice." She smiled warmly at them as she walked back up the line. "Thank you everyone."

"That was surprisingly business-like." Hal muttered. Tom looked over at him with a soft smile but neither of the women either side of him said a thing. Rebecca was holding back a fresh wave of sobs unsuccessfully and Karen had found her interest taken by the ground at her feet.

After another fifteen-minute wait they stepped in through the front doors and Tom put Matt down, reaching for Karen and touching her arm. "Would you like to go ahead Karen?" She nodded silently and walked past him to the front of the cue. Hal took a few steps after her then stopped, watching her reach the table. He looked at his father but Tom just nodded silently.

"Name and address dear?" The woman who'd told them the procedure earlier sat with a large book in front of her, names written down on different pages in what seemed to be alphabetised. It had only been six hours since the attack and they were already organised enough to alphabetise their records? The organisational person in Tom liked that.

"Karen Maree Nadler. 48A Progress Ave, Boston West." Karen managed. The woman behind the desk nodded and wrote it down. "My mother is Susan, she's… um, deceased." The woman gave Karen a sad smile then wrote that down as well.

"And your father?"

"Richard Nadler. He was at work. The Century Building in Cambridge. I don't know if he's alive."

The woman flicked through her notes. "He's not listed."

Karen gave a sad smile. "Thank you anyway."

Hal slid past his father and stepped up next to her. "That might be good? He might still be okay?" Karen just shrugged and moved down the line of tables as the woman looked up at what was left of the Mason family. As Tom hugged the softly-sobbing Rebecca, Hal spoke. "Thomas and Rebecca Mason, Hal Thomas Mason and Matthew Elliot Mason." The woman smiled at Matt as he leaned on the table, watching her write. "My brother, Benjamin, is he here?" The woman checked the book again then shook her head sadly. "Then he must have been taken by the aliens."

"They're calling them Skitters." A serious-faced army man stepped up behind them, turning the woman's book and reading their details. "The green ones, with six legs." Hal frowned and the man read the face right. "You haven't met them yet?" Hal shook his head and Tom looked up. "We think they control the robots, the Mechs, and they came down this evening to pick up the kids." Rebecca choked back a sob. The man glanced across at Karen. "She with you?"

"Yes." Hal said, almost defensively, as the man looked across at Karen as she signed a piece of paper with a shaking hand.

"We need you on the hunters and gatherers." He pointed to Tom and Rebecca. "You two as well." Matt stepped forward and he glanced down at the boy. "Not you." Then, tapping at the book, he muttered one last thing then walked away. "We need an address."

Hal glared after him. "Who the hell was that guy?" He turned back to the woman and she smiled.

"You mean Weaver? You'll get used to him, he's not that bad." She motioned down the line. "He's right about the hunters and gatherers though. We need people to gather food, medical supplies, anything you can get really." She looked at Tom and Rebecca too. "I suggest signing up. Your friend already has." She motioned to Karen as the girl was handed a thin armband. She wrapped it around her right arm then walked off, that tired look still on her face, her figure slumped.

Hal nodded. "Sign me up."

Tom agreed and Rebecca did too, if only reluctantly, and the woman smiled. "Great. I'll put your names down. Just take these," she fished down under the table and pulled out three armbands, pushing them across the table towards them. "And go stand over there." She pointed to where a few people stood waiting, Karen among them, propping up the wall with a forlorn look on her face. They started off when the woman spoke again. "Oh, home address."

Tom sighed. "182 Tanner Road, Bastion Hill. Not that there's anything left to call it a home anyway."

…

Weaver raised the clipboard to his eyes, lowered it again, then looked down the line. "Welcome to the party." He scanned the group of about twenty. "Before anyone asks why we need you to do this, why we all need to be here, why have I been handed a weapon when I'm only thirteen?" He glanced down at a younger boy watching him, a gun as big as him in his arms. "It's simple – we are the only defence we have left. These aliens have dropped in and taken over. Unless we unite, unless we fight together, we have nothing." He walked down the line slowly. "Now if any one of you want to back down, hand back your armbands, go hang out with the civilians and let someone else save your ass, feel free. I want fighters people, not little girls." He paused in front of Karen and looked down at her but she stared right back at him, her jaw set, determined. He kept walking. "Go if you want to." But no one moved. Weaver gave a slight smile. "Okay." He raised the clipboard again. "Jimmy Talbot – foraging for weapons." The young kid with the big gun nodded and Weaver continued down the line.

"Tom Mason – foraging for weapons." Hal watched him walk towards him slowly. "Rebecca Mason – foraging for food." Rebecca didn't move or give any kind of recognition she'd heard him. "Hal Mason – foraging for weapons." Hal nodded as Weaver moved along to Karen who stood beside Hal. "Karen Nadler – searching for survivors."

Weaver passed on not noticing Karen's lip tremble. But Hal did and he reached out, taking her hand. She glanced over at him, her eyes brimming with tears, and Hal squeezed her hand. "It'll be alright."

She shook her head sadly. "How will it? I'm likely the last one of my family. I don't have anyone."

"You have me." She looked back at him slowly. "I'm not going anywhere." She gave a slight smile, sad, but nonetheless a smile. "You are not alone Karen Nadler."

…

Hal kicked his bike into gear as the small search group set out again to rescue their missing comrade and he repeated those words softly to himself as the bike roared to life. "You are not alone." Then, taking a deep breath, Hal rode his way through the masses of civilians and off to get his girl…

**A/N: **Well, that's it. I hope you liked it. Tell me what you loved and didn't like. I apologize for any factual errors, I'm in Australia and we're three weeks behind so I've only got half the story you have (and knowing Spielberg that's likely only 1% of the whole story), but I hope you still enjoyed it. Just to note: when Hal finds Karen and kicks some Skitter ass to get her away I will totally have his back. Call on me Mason, I'll end those jerks if they hurt that girl, I love her!

Okay, considering doing another piece on the second wave, a continuation and what happens to Rebecca and Michael Harris and when they find their mom's body. Or maybe Lourdes' story? Tell me what you think.

Until then, peace out guys and keep reading and writing!  
>- Kate-Emma<p>

(A note: search Youtube 'not alone falling skies kateemma22' for this fic's video. The song inspired this piece)


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